Chapter 14 - Unwelcome Invitations
Back at Crystal House, the spring breeze carried more than just salt air from the harbor. Ethan stood on the east balcony, watching a fleet of three black town cars wind their way up the private coastal driveway. No reporters. No public tourists. Just federal license plates and tinted windows.
Elara stirred on the lawn below, her silver scales shifting into a defensive, opalescent sheen.
They bring legal writs, Ethan, Elara warned. Smelling of old paper and deception.
Ethan turned as the heavy oak doors of the foyer opened. A federal marshal accompanied by two corporate attorneys stepped into the grand hall, flanked by a man Ethan had never seen before—Sterling.
"Ethan Whitmore?" the marshal asked, holding out a thick stack of embossed documents. "You are formally served with an injunction from the Federal District Court of Appeals."
Ethan didn't flinch. He walked down the grand staircase, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. "On what grounds? The foundation was liquidated months ago under federal oversight."
May you like
"Not liquidated, reorganized," Sterling stepped forward, his smile smooth and corporate. "Clause 9-B of the 1845 foundational charter stipulates that any asset classified as a biological containment vessel remains the exclusive property of the Whitmore Directorate, subject to corporate receivership."
Sterling pulled out a secondary document and laid it on the entry table. "In short, Ethan, legally speaking, you aren't considered the owner of Crystal House. You are considered company property. And we've come to repossess our investment."
